Types of beverages

Everyone knows that a drink is nothing more than a liquid intended for drinking. The basis of most drinks consumed by humans is water. It itself is a drink and is consumed both in pure and in carbonated or mineralized form (both extracted from natural mineral sources and with additions). Drinks are usually divided into three large groups - alcoholic drinks, carbonated drinks and soft drinks.

Alcoholic beverages are drinks containing at least 1.5% ethyl alcohol obtained from alcoholic, carbohydrate-containing raw materials. Since ancient times, they were prepared by fermentation (fermentation is the metabolic breakdown of nutrient molecules, such as glucose, that occurs without the participation of oxygen). Alcoholic drinks include:

Wine is an alcoholic drink obtained by complete or partial alcoholic fermentation of grape juice.

Beer is a low-alcohol drink produced by the alcoholic fermentation of malt wort using brewer's yeast, usually with the addition of hops.

Cider is a low-alcohol drink, usually champagne, obtained by fermenting apple, less often pear or other fruit juice without adding yeast.

Mead is an alcoholic drink made from water, honey and yeast with various flavorings.

Cider

Mead

Another large subgroup of alcoholic beverages consists of so-called strong alcoholic beverages. Spirits are prepared using stills, distillation columns, or other methods of increasing strength without involving microorganisms. Strong alcoholic drinks include:

Absinthe is an alcoholic drink, the most important component of which is an extract of bitter wormwood, the essential oils of which contain a large amount of thujone.

Brandy is an alcoholic drink, a general term for the products of distillation of grape wine, fruit or berry mash.

Calvados is an apple or pear brandy obtained by distilling cider from the Lower Normandy region of France.

Whiskey is an aromatic alcoholic drink produced from various types of grain using the processes of malting, distillation and long-term aging in oak barrels.

Vodka is a colorless aqueous-alcohol solution with a characteristic odor. The strength of vodka can be different: 40.0-45.0; 50.0 or 56.0% vol.

Grappa is an Italian grape alcoholic drink. It is made by distilling grapes after pressing them during the wine making process.

Gin is made by distilling wheat alcohol with the addition of juniper, which gives gin its characteristic taste.

Cognac is produced from certain grape varieties using a special technology.

Liqueur is an aromatic, usually sweet alcoholic drink made from alcoholized fruit and berry juices, infusions of fragrant herbs with the addition of roots and spices.

Rum - made by fermenting and distilling from sugar cane by-products such as molasses and cane syrup.

Moonshine is produced by distilling, through home-made or factory-made stills, an alcohol-containing mass (mash) obtained as a result of the fermentation of sugar syrup, candied grains, potatoes, beets, fruits or other products containing sugar and candied starch substances.

Tequila is made from the heart of the blue agave (asparagus family), a plant traditional to Mexico, by distillation.

Absinthe

Calvados

Grappa

Rum from Jamaica

Tequila

The second large group of drinks - carbonated - are drinks saturated with carbon dioxide. They, in turn, are divided into two subgroups: carbonated drinks obtained by fermentation (for example, champagne or sour cabbage soup) and carbonated drinks obtained using modern technology (cola, tonic, carbonated lemonade, sparkling water).

Champagne is a sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France from established grape varieties by secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle.

Sour cabbage soup is an old honey-malt highly carbonated soft drink. The main technological difference from kvass is the infusion of the original wort and further fermentation in sealed bottles.

A cola drink is a type of carbonated, sugary drink that often contains caffeine. The name comes from kola nuts, which were originally used by beverage manufacturers as a source of caffeine.

Tonic (from the English tonic - tonic) is a bitter-sour non-alcoholic carbonated drink. Often used to dilute alcoholic beverages, especially gin, and prepare cocktails.

Tonic water is often used to dilute spirits, especially gin.

And finally, the third major group of drinks is the so-called soft drinks. Like carbonated drinks, they contain no alcohol, but also virtually no carbon dioxide. These drinks include:

Kvass is a traditional Slavic sour drink, which is prepared on the basis of fermentation from flour and malt (wheat, barley) or from dry rye bread, sometimes with the addition of fragrant herbs, honey, and wax; also prepared from beets, fruits, berries.

Compote (French compote) is a dessert drink made from fruits or berries, or a decoction of fruits in syrup, as well as a mixture of dried fruits or dried berries and fruits, or canned fruit or berries.

Morse is a traditional non-carbonated soft drink for Eastern Slavic cuisine, which is usually prepared from wild northern berries, mainly lingonberries and cranberries.

Cranberry juice

Also included in non-alcoholic drinks are various juices from fruits, berries and vegetables, or drinks with their addition. Birch sap is also common in East Slavic countries.

A large subgroup of soft drinks consists of dairy drinks, i.e. drinks based on milk, mainly cow's milk:

The milk itself.

Kefir is a fermented milk drink made from whole or skim cow's milk by fermented milk and alcohol fermentation using kefir "fungi" - a symbiosis of several types of microorganisms: lactic acid streptococci and rods, acetic acid bacteria and yeast (about two dozen in total). Homogeneous, , possible slight release of carbon dioxide.

Katyk is a fermented milk drink common among the Turkic peoples and in Bulgaria. It is made from natural milk by fermenting it with special bacterial cultures. What distinguishes katyk from all other types of curdled milk is that it is prepared from boiled milk, which ensures a higher fat content.

Ayran is a type of Turkic fermented milk drink based on katyk or a type of kefir among the Turkic, North Caucasian, South Caucasian and Balkan peoples. In different languages and among different peoples, the exact meaning of the name and preparation technology vary slightly, but the common thing is that it is a dairy product produced with the help of lactic acid bacteria. At the same time, among settled peoples it is liquid and quenches thirst well, while among nomadic peoples it is thick like liquid sour cream, which is very convenient for storage and transportation. However, to quench thirst, thick ayran requires dilution with water, milk or kumiss.

Fresh ayran (Istanbul, Türkiye)

Acidophilus is a fermented milk product that is made by fermenting pasteurized cow's milk with the help of special bacteria (bacillus acidophilus, kefir grains, lactic acid streptococcus).

Liquid yogurt. Yogurt is a fermented milk product with a high content of skim milk substances, produced by fermentation with a protosymbiotic mixture of pure cultures - Bulgarian bacillus and thermophilic streptococcus. It is allowed to add food additives, fruits, vegetables and their processed products

Ryazhenka is a fermented milk drink made from baked cow's milk by lactic acid fermentation. Fermentation is carried out with thermophilic lactic acid streptococci and pure cultures of Bulgarian bacillus, fermented for 3-6 hours. It has a yellowish-brownish tint and a traditional fermented milk taste. In fact, it is a type of unflavored yogurt.

Ryazhenka

Of course, these are not all existing types of non-alcoholic milk drinks, but the most famous and widespread. In addition, it should be noted that although dairy drinks are classified as non-alcoholic, there are also alcoholic drinks based on milk. This is, for example, kumis (made from mare's milk, may contain 5-6% alcohol or bilk (an alcoholic drink from the Abashiri brewery on the island of Hokkaido (Japan), which is a beer made from milk).

Kumis

Previously, we talked about drinks that, as a rule, are drunk chilled or at least not heated. But we all know hot drinks, which can be either non-alcoholic (most of them) or alcoholic. These include:

Cocoa is a drink that necessarily includes cocoa (ground seeds of the cocoa plant (chocolate tree)), as well as milk (or water) and sugar. The drink is usually non-alcoholic. In the modern world, there are two main types of the drink: hot chocolate and regular cocoa, which is boiled in water or milk from cocoa powder.

Tea is a drink obtained by boiling, steeping and/or infusing a leaf of a tea bush, which is previously prepared in a special way.

Hibiscus is a sweet-sour-tasting tea drink of bright red or burgundy color, made from the dried bracts of flowers of the Sudanese rose from the Hibiscus genus.

Hibiscus

Coffee is a drink made from roasted seeds (grains) of several species of plants belonging to the genus Coffee (Coffea) of the Rubiaceae family.

Mate is a tonic drink with a high content of mateine, prepared from the dried crushed leaves and young shoots of the Paraguayan holly. An integral part of the culture of Argentina and a number of neighboring countries in South America.

This is how it is customary to drink brewed mate drink

Mulled wine is a hot alcoholic drink based on red wine heated to 70-80 degrees with sugar and herbs (spices). Traditionally used in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic at Christmas markets and holidays held in the open air.

Sbiten is an ancient East Slavic drink made from water, honey and spices, which often included medicinal herbal infusions. Hot sbiten has a warming and anti-inflammatory effect, so it was drunk mainly in winter. True, cold sbiten was an equally popular drink when quenching thirst in a bathhouse or on a hot day in the summer.

Sbiten is an ancient East Slavic drink made from water, honey and spices, which often included medicinal herbs

Hot decoctions are a liquid dosage form, which is an aqueous extract from medicinal plant materials by boiling in water and infusing. Infusions without boiling in water have a similar property.